comes from the Shawnee word chilisuagi, meaning "place of the snow-birds". However, other possible meanings of the word include "flight of the wild goose", "frozen duck", and "man made perfect". The Shawnee Indians historically had a large village/town at the mouth of Chillisquaque Creek. The village was established by 1728 and was known as Chenastry and Otzinachson. The Shawnees on the creek moved to Western Pennsylvania in 1728. Additionally, Andrew Montour historically owned a plantation near the creek's mouth. In 1745, Bishop Spagenberg passed by the creek and noted the former Indian village there in his journal. A Mingo chief named Logan was living at the mouth of the creek in about 1753. An elderly couple were scalped by Indians near the creek in 1782. A frontier fort known as Fort Rice used to be located on Chillisquaque Creek near what is now Washingtonville. William Plunket had settled near Chillisquaque Creek as early as 1772. Boyd and Wilson built a mill at the mouth of the creek in 1791. The first Methodist camp meeting in the area was held on the creek from the West Branch Susquehanna River in August 1806. The creek was declared a public highway in the 1820s. The West Branch Division of the Pennsylvania Canal historically had an aqueduct over the creek. However, by 1842, it was in need of repairs. On July 18 and 19, 1851, a 32-hour-long storm caused Chillisquaque Creek to rise higher than it had in 57 years. In the early 1900s, the main industries in the creek's watershed included agriculture and clay mines. The creek was also used as water power for a number of small mills. Around this time period, railroads in the watershed included the Susquehanna, Bloomsburg, and Berwick Railroad and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. Major communities included Exchange, Jerseytown, Potts Grove, Washingtonville, Strawberry Ridge, and White Hall. Their populations were 225, 200, 184, 183, 160, and 140, respectively. Numerous bridges have been constructed over Chillisquaque Creek in Montour County. A bridge known as the Washingtonville Bridge was built in 1887 and is on the Historic American Buildings Survey. Another one, which carries Pennsylvania Route 54, was built in 1930. Another bridge was built in 1946 and carries Pennsylvania Route 254 in Washingtonville. A bridge carrying State Route 4008 was built across the creek in 1957 and was repaired in 2010. A bridge carrying State Route 1004 was